| FEBRUARY 28, 2010 A friend joined me on this scouting
hike to Barclay Lake. It was a pretty day when we reached
the trailhead, and the hike descriptions we had read did not disappoint.
The trail climbs ever so gently through a beautiful old growth forest on
its way to Barclay Lake, which is surrounded by the rugged Barclay Peak,
Merchant Peak and Gunn Peak. These names are familiar to us from
the classroom problems in the Mountaineers' Navigation Course, and when
we reached the lake we pulled out our maps and compasses and made more
sense out of the classroom instruction. We followed the trail to
the end of the lake where it becomes brushy before turning back to a
comfortable campsite for lunch. Few trails offer this type of
scenery for so little effort, and it will be perfect for a Mountaineers'
BWT hike in April. On our hike out, we encountered a group of
young people carrying the oddest assortment of camping equipment I've
seen on a trail--huge sleeping bags, no backpacks, and garbage bags
stuffed with food and other odds and ends.
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